Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, volume 2.
After the cliffhanger ending of Nancy being taken by Vecna in Stranger Things season 4, volume 1, the show gave audiences a sneak peek of season 5's monster through her encounter, which continued in season 4, volume 2. Stranger Things has used Dungeons& Dragons monsters throughout the series' run, utilizing the characters' knowledge of the iconic roleplaying game to explain the unknown creatures of the Upside Down. Nancy's vision of Vecna's intended future hinted that a new Dungeons & Dragons monster is coming — and it's something big and bad.
Starting with the Demogorgon in Stranger Things season 1, the show has a long history of using the names of Dungeons & Dragons monsters to codify and explain various creatures in the Upside Down. While these creatures rarely look like their Dungeons & Dragons counterparts, there's generally a thematic link between the two that justifies the use of the name. The Demogorgon is bipedal, terrifying, and the apex evolution of its line — it evokes something of the Prince of Demons from Dungeons & Dragons that it's based on, even if it's substantially shorter and doesn't have two heads. The Mind Flayer is an intelligent creature that plans to destroy the reality in which it suddenly finds itself, something akin to the Mind Flayers of Dungeons & Dragons. Vecna may be the most like his Dungeons & Dragons counterpart: a wizard-become-undead-lich who attempts to ascend to godhood.
In season 4, episode 8, Nancy's vision of a potential future suggests that another terrifying figure is coming in Stranger Things season 5, and Dungeons & Dragons has a lot of monsters that might fit the bill. Given that Stranger Things season 5 will be the final installment of the Netflix series, its monster is likely to be something very recognizable and very apocalyptic. Here's what the hints given in Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 suggest it might be.
Nancy Revealed Stranger Things Season 5's Monster In Episode 8
At the end of Stranger Things season 4, volume 1, Vecna takes control of Nancy in much the same way he's done with the victims he's killed up to that point in the season. He says he has a message for her to pass to Eleven. This includes a vision of Hawkins being destroyed, the ensuing chaos, and a big creature with a gaping mouth. She says that it isn't alone and that many monsters will come alongside it. Essentially, she has seen doomsday with the Upside Down coming to the real world and it looks bleak.
Nancy isn't new to trauma or disturbing monsters. In Stranger Things season 1, she enters the Upside Down briefly and only narrowly escapes the Demogorgon. Stranger Things season 3 has her facing twisted and murderous men who have been taken by the Mind Flayer as well as flesh monsters created from the corpses of various people she once knew. Nancy is shown in Stranger Things season 4 to be one of the most level-headed and capable members of the Hawkins crew, entering the Upside Down to save Steve without a second thought and going on a mission back into the Upside Down to kill Vecna without showing any overt fear. That the vision of this monster rattles her so much is a testament to just how scary it must actually be.
What D&D Monster Will Be In Stranger Things Season 5?
Nancy's description of the new Stranger Things monster is vague enough for a number of popular Dungeons & Dragons monsters to be possibilities. Some obvious choices float to the top of the franchise's wide bestiary. Here are a few ideas and why they'd be a good fit for the world of Stranger Things and the Upside Down.
The Otyugh, also known as the Gulguthra, is a monster known for its wide, gaping mouth. It's not as big as the creature Nancy described, but it is known to team up with other monsters, on occasion. It has the added benefit of having been created in the 1970s, making it a viable choice for a monster the Hawkins crew would know about. The Otyugh is a vile monster that eats waste, garbage, and excrement and might be just what Vecna needs to clean up in the wake of his destruction in Stranger Things season 5.
Tiamat has existed since the earliest incarnations of Dungeons & Dragons and would make for an excellent "end boss" of Stranger Things. She's known as the queen and mother of all evil dragons. Will's painting in Stranger Things season 4 shows the party fighting a three-headed dragon. This possibly hints at Will's subconscious picking up on something Vecna knows, given that the two characters have a connection. Tiamat traditionally has five heads, but that's not necessarily a barrier to the portrayal in Stranger Things going in a slightly different direction. Given her status as the mother of all evil dragons, she would definitely be likely to have many monsters surrounding her. Having Stranger Things' final monster be a dragon feels incredibly appropriate, given its ties to Dungeons & Dragons.
Perhaps the most compelling — and terrifying — possibility is that of the Tarrasque. Introduced to Dungeons & Dragons in 1983, the Tarrasque has been the traditional final encounter of many a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, given its nearly unkillable nature. If Vecna has a big gun up his sleeve, the Tarrasque fits the description. It would be incredibly satisfying to end Stranger Things season 5 with the need to banish or defeat a monster known for ending civilizations. It's roughly the size of a five-story building, resistant to pretty much all regular kinds of damage, including fire, which would be particularly bad news for the Hawkins crew, and has an impressive healing factor.
It feels likely that Stranger Things season 5 will introduce another Upside Down monster and name it after something from Dungeons & Dragons. While Vecna is sure to be controlling whatever comes next in Stranger Things, it's certain that the Hawkins crew has yet to see all he has up his sleeves. Whether it ends up being one of the proposed monsters above or something else entirely, audiences can be certain that the Upside Down will have new and more terrifying threats in season 5 of Stranger Things.
Want more Stranger Things season 4 articles? Check out our essential content below...
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